I'm It!

Melanie tagged me and now I need to think of 8 things about me:


#1 I really do like MOLDY OLDIES! I give my husband such a hard time about them, but SOME of them are actually okay. Sorry Hun!


#2 I actually miss working at Kiddie Kandids. I used to do children's photography and it was probably the toughest job I've done. It is very intimidating to step into a room and try to get a kid, baby or a whole family to smile all at the same time. Meanwhile trying to make a mother with incredibly high expectations happy. It was so much fun thought to work with the kids and when you took the perfect picture it was wonderful. A picture really does say a 1000 words and then some.


#3 I really enjoy reading the Twilight series. Much to my embarrassment I read all three books in 4 1/2 days. My friends were shocked. I really do enjoy a good, clean, love story, with a twist!


#4 I was a twin. This is something most people don't know and usually feel bad about. However, it is something that is very neat to me. Because my twin passed before we were born I'm not quite sure how it all works out in the great scheme of things but do have a very special connection with my younger brother because of it.


#5 I used to despise chocolate and since being pregnant I can't get enough. Chris and I went to get a banana split at Brewsters (a rare treat) and when we were at the very end of our sundae he got up and threw it away while I was taking care of Kate. I was so mad and asked him why he did that and he said that all that was left was the melted ice cream and chocolate. I told him my favorite part of the sundae was to scrap the hot fudge off the bottom of the cup. He looked at me strange and told me that was gross. Of course I totally disagree.


#6 Only my sister Jay would know this but I used to listen to rap music. A lot! When I was in Junior High I really liked it. Luckily I gained some taste with the help of my sisters, Chelsie O. (I mean T. ), and a couple of good Kenny Chesney concerts I haven't turned back since.


#7 Me and my husband both have crushes on Matt Damon. We both think he is a really cool guy. He seems like one of those guys if you met in really life he would be really fun to be around. Plus he is good looking! But that is me not Chris.


#8 I have always had a thing for red heads. My first crush was a red head. Brandon Syme was my first crush when I was about 4 or 5. We were childhood friends. Since him I have been hooked on red hair. That was first thing I noticed about Chris. I saw his gorgeous hair and was in awe of him. The next thing I noticed was his amazing smile. I was smitten. Love at first sight really does happen!


K- Now I tag Diana, Heather, Jayanne, Jaesi, Chrissy, and Jill. Write 8 things that are interesting/weird about you that most people wouldn't know. It actually is fun once you get going. If you get stuck a good source to go to is your hubby. I was by how observant he is. Good Luck!

Happy Birthday Baby Kate!

Kate is 1!

Kate turned 1 on September 25th. Yes I am behind. We went to New York over her birthday. We had so much fun there. Chris and I both joked about how many 1 year old get to go to New York for their 1st birthday. It took both of us 20 plus years to get to go. Lucky girl!


While Chris worked we went to the Today Show in the morning. This is a blur of Al Rocquer. (I don't know how to spell it.) We had a blast. We got to be on the dancing segment. We were on t.v. every now and then. They gave Kate a morocco to shake during it. Then at the very end Ann Curry came over and gave Kate a kiss and talked to us. It was great. Very memorable at least for me.

Here's the Birthday girl!

This is one of the dancers. She had the coolest shoes. I just wanted to remember then. Ya!
She actually danced in these. Amazing!

After the Today show we went to the park on 5th Ave.

When Chris was off work went out to eat. We took Kate to T.G.I. Friday's.

The waitress was so sweet. She brought Kate out some cheese cake with a candle on top and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. She loved the cheese cake. Just like her mom!

We went to Time Square afterward to walk around.

After that we went and met up with "uncle" A.J. These two have a lot in common.

This is Chris' friend from work. He wanted to tell Kate happy birthday.

We decorated our hotel room for the special day!

When we got home we opened some presents. This was from Grandma and Grandpa West. Kate loves it.

Kate favorite word is "puppy". So her dad felt the need to buy her an over sized one for her birthday.

And when I don't know about it he will put it in her crib for her to sleep with. Needless to say it takes up most of the crib.

Thanks everyone for all the cards and presents. We had such a fun day with her. The only thing missing was all of you. We love and miss all of you!

September 20th is My Favorite Day!

Happy 26Th Birthday to Chris!

I will be the first to admit I am a little late on birthdays. Chris' was on September 20Th. He turned 26. I feel like I am married to an old man now. Nothing against the age I just still feel like he should still be 22 like when we first met.

We went mini golfing for his b-day. It was really fun. We had the course all to ourselves.

Here is our biggest cheerleader!

Kate was such a good girl. She loved holding the golf balls. (And eating them)

Not to steal Chris' thunder, but I hit the sweetest hole-in-one. It had to jump over the bridge and then it bounced off the back wall and went right in. I was totally shocked. Of course Chris was my biggest fan. He was impressed with my skills.

This is our random pic of Kate in a Chili's to-go bag. We went to our friends new apartment to visit and we order Chili's for dinner. When the food came all Kate wanted to do was play in the bag, so we stuck her in it. It only lasted about a minute but it was really cute how much she liked it. Thanks Silas and A.J.!

Annapolis

This pic some sweet, random lady took of us. We thought she was taking it of the Capitol, too, but this will do.


Last week for Chis' day off we took a trip to Annapolis. It was so good to be by the ocean. It wasn't really the ocean but to us it looked like it to us anyway. It was really a bay area. Annapolis had that small town feeling even though it is really large. It reminded me a lot of St. George when we were walking around the historic district. It was incredibly humid the day we went though. The only draw back to being by the ocean/bay.




This is a look down Main Street. If you look in the middle you can see some spire looking things, those are boats. Yup! Main Street runs right to the bay. Chris is standing to the left in the cross walk.



This is another pic of all the cute shops that line Main Street. There are a ton of good stores to shop in.

This the Maryland state Capitol. It was surprising that this was it. I was expecting the huge white building similar to Utah's. It took Chris and I a minute to realize this was now our State Capitol now-weird.

Kate and Dad! It looked like rain so we all put on pants. It wasn't the smartest idea. With the humidity it was so HOT!

This is just a random picture of Kate is her swing. Yes that is my almost one year old who is enjoying her swing. Too bad she didn't when she was a baby. She looks gigantic to me in it. She likes to sit in it and play with all the little baby toys on it. That's my big girl!

On a Picnic with Grandma & Grandpa

Kate got a fauxhawk. I was so proud to see how much her hair has grown. Even more surprising than the length is the new curls that she is sporting. Yup! That is right. She is getting curly hair. I didn't see that coming. She looks so cute when we do it curly now. I'll post a pic of it soon.

Kate and Grandma!

On a picnic with Grandma and Grandpa. This is the park that Chris and I used to live right next to in St. George. When we were there we had many regrets that we didn't go there more.

Kate lovin' on her Grandpa West!

This is Kate's "pirate face" as it has been called. I don't know why but she just started doing it. She got this from her friend Savannah.

Swimming & Walking

Swimming with Megan.


Heidi and Megan. They were so fun to swim with. They have so much energy. I am not sure how Kami keeps up.


Kate loves swimming. She floated all around the pool in this floaty all by herself. We were close by but she was pretty independent.

This is James. AHHH! He is so cute. He is two months younger than Kate.

Kate with Grandma's magnets. Everything right now belongs in her mouth.

I have had these pictures for awhile. Okay I have had them forever and just haven't posted them. She has been working on walking for awhile and it is so fun to watch her move. Before she would push her walker from wall-to-wall and then just wait for us to turn her around and then keep going. Back and forth, Back and forth. Now she has learned to to turn it all by herself. I don't know how she figured it out she just got up and started doing it one day. It is so neat. I can see her mind working and she is trying to figure how to get around things and get unstuck from things around her. It is really neat to witness. My girl is getting big!

Last week Chris' sister, Julie, and her husband, Zach, came out to visit. We had such a great time with them. They were troopers, too. It was incredibly hot and humid. I thought St. George was bad, but this gave us a run for our money. Kate was so good through it all too. Kate loved getting to spend time with Julie and Zach, they are gonna be great parents someday. (wink-wink!) Chris and I got to go to the D.C. temple because they babysat for us. It was so beautiful. We didn't take pics though but we will sometime. Thanks for coming out you guys. I will post more of our pictures soon, but this is all I could get done for now. We just had so much fun it is taking me awhile to document it all.




This is Chris and I with some of our closest relatives. Chris really liked the cavemen for some reason. They always remind us of the Geico commercials.




We walked around and saw all the stuffed animals (for lack of a better word). It was like going to the zoo. Except none of them moved they just stared at us. Kate loved it!

This is Kate looking at lion. It wasn't alive. It looked like it was growling. When we put her in front of it she kept going "ooh". You can see she is doing it right now.

That is a huge elephant behind them. It is front and center

when you walk into the Natural History Museum. It was pretty intimidating. It makes you feel really small.

This is Zach in front of Mount Vernon where George Washington lived. He had such an amazing house. When he first inherited it is was tiny. I think they said now it has 21 rooms in it. Washington's tomb was neat to see, too. He was a very humble man. In the exhibit emphasized a lot about how George Washington could have become the next King after he won the war, but instead he gave the power back to congress and went back to Mount Vernon, where he hadn't been for a long time. I had heard that but never really thought about it. It is weird to think if he hadn't done that we could be under monarch rule right now. He was a good man.

Kate and I went to Mount Vernon with Zach and Julie. I was a hot day there. This is President Washington and his wife, Martha and their two grandchildren that lived with them. That is me standing in front of President Washington. They digitally recreated him to look as closely like him as they could. It was pretty neat to get to see how he looked. They showed him throughout the exhibit as he got older.

Kate was really tired. She did so good though. It was tough being out all day in the heat and humidity all day.

This is the Washington Monument at sunrise. However, I did not take this picture. I owe this to Zach and Julie who got up at 4:30 and went down with Chris to D.C. Kate and I were still in bed. This is my favorite picture. It looks so peaceful and quiet.